Double-Orifice Mitral Valve

Double orfice mitral valve (DOMV), a rare congenital cardiac anomaly, was seen in six patients who have undergone open heart surgery at the Department of Pediatric Thoracic and Cardoivascular Surgery, Hacettepe University Hospital and at the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Cardiology Institute, University of Istanbul, from 1976 to March, 1989. DOMV was associated with atrioventricular canal defect in all but one patients. The patient with isolated DOMV had severe mitral insufficiency necessitating mitral valve replacement. In three patients who had a cleft in the mitral valve, satisfactory mitral competence was achieved by primary repair of the cleft. In the remaining two cases, the mitral valve was left intact since there was no mitral valve dysfunction.